Don't worry, Jeff and Amanda will come home someday. Until then, we want to give our family and friends a glimpse of life as expat-newlyweds.

Friday, May 27, 2005

Couples weekend in KL

Our second time out of Singapore came last weekend, with a group of us spending the weekend in Kuala Lumpur (KL). Francis and Andy work with Jeff, and I hang out with their wives Cindy and Karen quite a bit. We took a 4-hour bus ride up to KL on Friday night and spent Saturday and Sunday checking out the city.

Malaysia is predominantly Muslim, and we spent most of Saturday at the Museum of Islamic Art, which is probably the only way I'm going to get to see Islamic art in person for a while. The collection of calligraphy, textiles and illuminated Korans was seriously beautiful.

After the museum and lunch, we visited the National Mosque, which required us to put on proper attire. That meant robes for the men, and robes plus head scarves for the ladies. The mosque was very peaceful, even with the men joking around a bit.

From there, we attempted to find our way to the Chinatown Night Market to buy fake Louis Vutton and Gucci purses. Big mistake. Don't bother thinking you can walk anywhere in KL. You're better off just finding a taxi and saving yourself some trouble. I think this particular walking adventure involved a train station, a bridge and a construction site. But I did score some Gucci sunglasses for dirt cheap! They're real, I swear.

On Sunday, we managed to get free tickets to tour the Petronas Twin Towers and visit the 41st floor bridge, made famous by the movie "Entrapment." I had a hard time believing it, but the Petronas stand taller than my hometown Sears Tower.